The Best of the Girl Groups is a 2-volume compilation series released by Rhino Records in 1990. The collection, compiling 36 of the better known tracks by girl groups of the 1960s, is listed at #421 in Rolling Stone's list of "Greatest Albums of All Time".[3] Music journalist Robert Christgau includes the compilation in his "core collection" for an essential rock library of music preceding 1980.[4] Entertainment Weekly described the first volume as "a veritable catalog of the era's romantic attitudes".[5] The New York Times recommends both volumes, in conjunction with Rhino's Girl Group Greats, for listeners seeking "the biggest girl-group hits".[6]
| The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Compilation album by Various | |
| Released | 1990 |
| Genre | Girl group |
| Label | Rhino |
| Producer | Bill Inglot |
| The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 2 | |
 | |
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| (Vol.1) Allmusic |   [1] |
| (Vol. 2)Allmusic |  [2] |
Song selection edit
The compilation collects a broad range of the era's well-known hits, featuring seven #1 hit singles and an additional 14 top ten hits among its 36 tracks, but it includes lesser-known material as well, enough—according to AllMusic—to "keep the collection interesting for more serious fans of girl group pop".[7] The collection includes two representative tracks of Ellie Greenwich, a prolific charting songwriter whose own material both solo and with The Raindrops was often overlooked.[8] The included solo single "You Don't Know" was described by journalist Alan Betrock in his book Girl Groups: The Story of a Sound as "the kind of record that not only transcends and expands the boundaries that come to mind when someone says, 'Girl-group record,' but...also can stand alone, totally unique and unmatched by any other competition".[8] "I Can't Let Go", a 1965 song by Evie Sands which did not chart, was critically described as "superb" though the song failed to capture popular interest until covered by The Hollies a year later.[9] "The One You Can't Have" is one of several "outstanding" singles by popular backing vocalists The Honeys that failed to achieve commercial success.[10] Cher's brush with the girl group genre is also represented, by the 1965 "Dream Baby", a "girl group classic" if not a charting single.[11]
Track listing edit
The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 1 edit
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | Chart Position | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Leader of the Pack" | (Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich, Shadow Morton) | The Shangri-Las | #1 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[12] |
2:54 |
| 2 | "He's So Fine" | (Ronnie Mack) | The Chiffons | #1 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[13] |
1:54 |
| 3 | "Chapel of Love" | (Barry, Greenwich, Phil Spector) | The Dixie Cups | #1 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[14] |
2:50 |
| 4 | "The Boy from New York City" | (George Davis, John T. Taylor) | The Ad Libs | #6 Black Singles #8 Pop Singles[15] |
3:02 |
| 5 | "The Shoop Shoop Song (It's in His Kiss)" | (Rudy Clark) | Betty Everett | #6 Black Singles #6 Pop Singles[16] |
2:16 |
| 6 | "Sally Go 'Round the Roses" | (Zell Sanders, Abner Spector) | The Jaynetts | #4 Black Singles #2 Pop Singles[17] |
3:16 |
| 7 | "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" | (Gerry Goffin, Carole King) | The Shirelles | #2 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[18] |
2:44 |
| 8 | "Remember (Walking in the Sand)" | (Morton) | The Shangri-Las | #5 Black Singles #5 Pop Singles[12] |
2:20 |
| 9 | "One Fine Day" | (Goffin, King) | The Chiffons | #6 Black Singles #5 Pop Singles[13] |
2:10 |
| 10 | "Party Lights" | (Claudine Clark) | Claudine Clark | #3 Black Singles #5 Pop Singles[19] |
2:24 |
| 11 | "People Say" | (Barry, Greenwich) | The Dixie Cups | #12 Black Singles #12 Pop Singles[14] |
2:46 |
| 12 | "He's Got the Power" | (Elle Greenwich, Tony Powers) | The Exciters | #57 Pop Singles[20] | 2:24 |
| 13 | "I Can't Stay Mad at You" | (Goffin, King) | Skeeter Davis | #2 Adult Contemporary #14 Country Singles #7 Pop Singles[21] |
2:09 |
| 14 | "I Wanna Love Him So Bad" | (Barry, Elle Greenwich) | The Jelly Beans | #9 Black Singles #9 Pop Singles[22] |
2:45 |
| 15 | "Dream Baby" | (Sonny Bono)[23] | Cher | — | 2:59 |
| 16 | "Baby It's You" | (Burt Bacharach, Hal David, B. Williams) | The Shirelles | #3 Black Singles #8 Pop Singles[18] |
2:40 |
| 17 | "Give Him a Great Big Kiss" | (Morton) | The Shangri-Las | #18 Pop Singles[12] | 2:12 |
| 18 | "I Can't Let Go" | (Al Gorgoni, Chip Taylor)[24] | Evie Sands | — | 2:08 |
The Best of the Girl Groups, Volume 2 edit
| # | Title | Composer | Performer | Chart Position | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "My Boyfriend's Back" | (Bob Feldman, Jerry Goldstein, Richard Gottehrer) | The Angels | #2 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[25] |
2:39 |
| 2 | "Sweet Talkin' Guy" | (Elliot Greenberg, Doug Morris) | The Chiffons | #10 Pop Singles[13] | 2:27 |
| 3 | "The Loco-Motion" | (Goffin, King) | Little Eva | #1 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[26] |
2:27 |
| 4 | "A Lover's Concerto" | (Sandy Linzer, Denny Randell) | The Toys | #4 Black Singles #2 Pop Singles[27] |
2:42 |
| 5 | "The Kind of Boy You Can't Forget" | (Barry, Greenwich) | The Raindrops | #27 Black Singles #17 Pop Singles[28] |
2:11 |
| 6 | "You Don't Know" | (Barry, Greenwich, Morton)[29] | Ellie Greenwich | — | 3:17 |
| 7 | "Chains" | (Goffin, King) | The Cookies | #17 Black Singles #6 Pop Singles[30] |
2:32 |
| 8 | "Popsicles and Icicles" | (David Gates) | The Murmaids | #2 Adult Contemporary #3 Pop Singles[31] |
2:33 |
| 9 | "The One You Can't Have" | (Brian Wilson)[10] | The Honeys | — | 2:00 |
| 10 | "Tell Him" | (Bert Russell) | The Exciters | #5 Black Singles #4 Pop Singles[20] |
2:39 |
| 11 | "Don't Say Nothin' Bad (About My Baby)" | (Goffin, King) | The Cookies | #3 Black Singles #7 Pop Singles[30] |
2:45 |
| 12 | "I Met Him on a Sunday (Ronde-Ronde)" | (Doris Coley, Addie Harris, Beverley Lee, Shirley Owens) | The Shirelles | #49 Pop Singles[18] | 2:16 |
| 13 | "Wonderful Summer" | (Perry Botkin, Jr., Gil Garfield) | Robin Ward | #23 Black Singles #14 Pop Singles[32] |
2:29 |
| 14 | "It Might As Well Rain Until September" | (Goffin, King) | Carole King | #22 Pop Singles[33] | 2:25 |
| 15 | "You Don't Have to Be a Baby to Cry" | (Bob Merrill, Terry Shand) | The Caravelles | #2 Adult Contemporary #3 Pop Singles[34] |
2:02 |
| 16 | "Easier Said Than Done" | (Larry Huff, William Linton) | The Essex | #1 Black Singles #1 Pop Singles[35] |
2:12 |
| 17 | "I Love How You Love Me" | (Larry Kolber, Barry Mann) | The Paris Sisters | #5 Pop Singles[36] | 2:09 |
| 18 | "Johnny Get Angry" | (Hal David, Sherman Edwards, Donald Meyer) | Joanie Sommers | #7 Pop Singles[37] | 2:32 |
Personnel edit
Performance edit
- The Ad Libs – performer
- Hugh Harris[15]
- Danny Austin
- Norman Donegan
- Mary Ann Thomas
- Dave Watt
- Michael Powers
- The Angels – performer
- Barb Allbut[25]
- Phyllis "Jiggs" Allbut
- Peggy Santiglia
- Linda Jansen
- The Caravelles – performer
- Andrea Simpson[34]
- Lois Wilkinson
- Cher – performer
- The Chiffons – performer
- Patricia Bennett[13]
- Judy Craig
- Barbara Lee Jones
- Sylvia Peterson
- Claudine Clark – performer
- The Cookies – performer
- Margie Hendrix[30]
- Dorothy Jones
- Ethel "Earl-Jean" McCrea
- Patricia Lyles
- Margaret Ross
- Skeeter Davis – performer
- The Dixie Cups – performer
- Barbara Anne Hawkins[14]
- Rosa Lee Hawkins
- Joan Marie Johnson
- Dale Mickle
- The Essex – performer
- Rodney Taylor[35]
- Rudolph Johnson
- Anita Humes
- Walter Vickers
- Billy Hill
- Betty Everett – performer
- The Exciters – performer
- Carol Johnson[20]
- Skip McPhee
- Ronnie Pace
- Brenda Reid
- Lillian Walker
- Sylvia Wilbur
- Herb Rooney
- Ellie Greenwich – performer
- The Honeys – performer
- Ginger Blake
- Diane Rovell
- Marilyn Rovell
- Barbara Rovell
- The Jaynetts – performer
- Yvonne Bushnell[17]
- Ethel Davis
- Ada Ray
- Johnnie Louise Richardson
- Mary Sue Wells
- Zelma Sanders
- The Jelly Beans – performer
- Charles Thomas[22]
- Alma Brewer
- Elyse Herbert
- Maxine Herbert
- Diane Taylor
- Carole King – performer
- Little Eva – performer
- The Murmaids – performer
- Carol Fischer
- Terry Fischer
- Sally Gordon
- The Paris Sisters – performer
- Albeth Paris[36]
- Priscilla Paris
- The Raindrops – performer
- Ellie Greenwich
- Jeff Barry
- Evie Sands – performer
- The Shangri-Las – performer
- Marge Ganser[12]
- Mary Anne Ganser
- Betty Weiss
- Mary Weiss
- The Shirelles – performer
- Doris Coley[18]
- Addie Harris
- Beverley Lee
- Shirley Owens
- Joanie Sommers – performer
- The Toys – performer
- June Montiero[27]
- Barbara Parritt
- Barbara Harris
- Robin Ward – performer
Production edit
- Sevie Bates – design
- Irwin Chusid – liner notes
- Geoff Gans – art direction
- Bill Inglot – producer, transfers, digital preparation
- Michael Ochs – photography
- Ken Perry – transfers, digital preparation
- Gary Stewart – compilation
References edit
- ^ (Vol.1) Allmusic review
- ^ (Vol. 2)Allmusic review
- ^ The Best of the Girl Groups: Volumes 1 and 2 Rolling Stone online. (November 1, 2003). Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ^ Christgau, Robert. (1990) Rock library before 1980 Excerpted from Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Christgau official website. Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ^ Recordings at a glance EW.com. (September 28, 1990). Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ^ Staff. (November 25, 2005). The good, the rare and the nostalgic in boxed sets The New York Times. Accessed November 1, 2007.
- ^ The Best of the Girl Groups, Vol. 1 at AllMusic
- ^ a b You Don't Know at AllMusic
- ^ label+Evie Sands at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Honeys at AllMusic
- ^ All I Really Want to Do at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d Shangri Las at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d Chiffons at AllMusic
- ^ a b c The Dixie Cups at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Ad Libs at AllMusic
- ^ Betty Everett at AllMusic
- ^ a b Jaynetts at AllMusic
- ^ a b c d The Shirelles at AllMusic
- ^ Claudine Clark at AllMusic
- ^ a b c The Exciters at AllMusic
- ^ Skeeter Davis at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Jelly Beans at AllMusic
- ^ Cher at AllMusic
- ^ I Can't Let Go at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Angels at AllMusic
- ^ Little Eva at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Toys at AllMusic
- ^ The Raindrops at AllMusic
- ^ Ellie Greenwich at AllMusic
- ^ a b c The Cookies at AllMusic
- ^ The Murmaids at AllMusic
- ^ Robin Warn at AllMusic
- ^ Carole King at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Caravelles at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Essex at AllMusic
- ^ a b The Paris Sisters at AllMusic
- ^ Joanie Sommers at AllMusic